World leaders will converge on New York next week for the 80th session of the UN General Assembly, facing a crowded agenda of protracted wars, climate change and UN reforms, with the spotlight firmly on the return of US President Donald Trump.
The annual high-level debate, set to open under the theme “Better Together: 80 years and more for peace, development and human rights,” will be dominated by the conflict in Gaza.
Diplomats will be closely watching a push for more countries to recognise the Palestinian state on September 22.
“Palestine is going to be the huge elephant” at the gathering, Palestinian UN envoy Riyad Mansour told reporters in New York.
Richard Gowan, UN director at the International Crisis Group, cautioned that the upcoming two-state solution conference should not be seen as an end in itself.
“It will only have any meaning if the countries that recognise Palestine follow up with further steps to try and put pressure on Israel to end its campaign in Gaza,” he told The National.
Mr Gowan also warned that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could use his appearance at the UN to escalate the situation.
“There is a risk that Netanyahu will respond to the two-state solution conference by possibly even announcing formal annexation of some of the Palestinian territories,” he said. "That is a worst case scenario that I think diplomats do worry about."
The 80th session will be presided over by Annalena Baerbock, Germany’s former foreign minister, making her the fifth woman to lead the 193-member assembly in its eight-decade history. Ms Baerbock said her tenure will focus on strengthening multilateralism and fostering collective action to tackle global challenges.
Leaders from nations including Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Palestine, Ukraine and France are scheduled to speak during the high-level week starting on September 23.
“It is almost certain that all eyes will be on President Trump as he returns to the UN,” Richard Gowan, UN director at the International Crisis Group, told The National. “The US President's speech will overshadow what other leaders have to say, and there will be a long line of presidents and prime ministers trying to get bilateral meetings with him.”
Mr Gowan expects Mr Trump will use the platform to put pressure on the UN to refocus on global peace while amplifying his own claims to be a historic peacemaker.
“He really does seem to be running a campaign for a Nobel Peace Prize and the UN is a good place to make his pitch,” Mr Gowan said.
"There is a feeling, or at least a hope, that Trump is going to come here in a fairly positive mood. He enjoys the General Assembly. He enjoys the attention of other leaders."
Syria’s President Ahmad Al Shara is also expected to attract significant attention, with Mr Gowan predicting he will “probably be a star, unless further instability in Syria complicates his visit.”
“Al Shara definitely has a charisma that most other leaders cannot bring right now, and I think Trump plus a lot of European and Arab leaders would be glad to welcome him into the UN club,” Mr Gowan said.
The Syrian president is pushing to have sanctions lifted on him and his government.
“There is also serious discussion of the UN setting up some sort of new political mission in Damascus to assist with the transition,” Mr Gowan said. “And if Shara can land some of those messages, then actually the UN could be useful in the Syrian situation, after many years of being marginalised.”
Tuesday, September 23
Morning: Brazil, US, Indonesia, Turkey, Peru, Jordan, South Korea, Qatar, Suriname, Lithuania, Portugal, Uruguay, Slovenia, Egypt, Kazakhstan, South Africa, Uzbekistan.
Afternoon: Mongolia, Turkmenistan, Chile, Tajikistan, Lebanon, France, Kyrgyzstan, El Salvador, Poland, Mozambique, Mexico, Vietnam, Angola, Romania, Morocco, Maldives, Iraq, Finland, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Wednesday, September 24
Morning: Algeria, Ukraine, Monaco, Iran, Panama, Czech Republic, Rwanda, Switzerland, Latvia, Kenya, Paraguay, Estonia, Argentina, Serbia, Syria, Croatia, Sierra Leone, The Gambia, Cyprus.
Afternoon: Dominican Republic, Sri Lanka, Honduras, Guatemala, Comoros, Ecuador, Namibia, Guyana, Zimbabwe, Kiribati, Senegal, Slovakia, Marshall Islands, Central African Republic, Zambia, Albania, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria.
Thursday, September 25
Morning: Tunisia, Somalia, Montenegro, Palestine, Yemen, North Macedonia, Haiti, Cameroon, Chad, Colombia, Burundi, Bolivia, Gabon, Ghana, Laos, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Eswatini.
Afternoon: Philippines, Libya, Botswana, Dominica, Republic of the Congo, Timor-Leste, Mauritania, Micronesia, Uganda, Sudan, Madagascar, Tonga, EU, Tanzania, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Kuwait.
Friday, September 26
Morning: Israel, Netherlands, China, Thailand, UK, India, Mauritius, Luxembourg, Armenia, Ireland, Georgia, Japan, Italy, Nepal, Pakistan, Malta, Bhutan, Spain, Bangladesh.
Afternoon: Lesotho, Greece, Cabo Verde, Bulgaria, Saint Lucia, Vanuatu, New Zealand, Niger, Andorra, Trinidad and Tobago, Australia, Antigua and Barbuda, Belgium, Barbados, Belize, Papua New Guinea, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Fiji.
Saturday, September 27
Morning: Bahamas, Mali, Jamaica, Togo, Grenada, Burkina Faso, Canada, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Nauru, Liechtenstein, Cambodia, the UAE, Russia, Norway, Cuba, Brunei, Germany.
Afternoon: San Marino, Denmark, Saudi Arabia, Austria, Nicaragua, Singapore, Seychelles, Oman, Sweden, Malaysia, Bahrain, Djibouti, Iceland, Belarus, Venezuela.
Monday, September 29
Morning: Hungary, Malawi, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Benin, Azerbaijan, Costa Rica, Holy See, Moldova, Afghanistan, South Sudan.
The order of nations can change on a daily basis.
